2022 Volume 40 Issue 1 Pages 10-16
Adenocarcinoma of the vulva is rare. Lesions of the posterior vaginal vestibule are often assumed to be primary lesions of the Bartholin's glands. We report a case where vulvar adenocarcinoma in a Crohn's disease patient was diagnosed as cancer arising from an anal fistula following resection. A 48-year-old woman received treatment for Crohn's disease. Six months prior, she had a tumor of the left vulvar area, close to the vaginal vestibule. Adenocarcinoma was confirmed based on biopsy results. Upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy performed was negative. Accordingly, Bartholin's adenocarcinoma was suspected. On the first visit, a 4 cm mass was found in the left Bartholin's gland area. CT revealed mild bilateral inguinal lymph node hypertrophy. We performed simple vulvectomy and bilateral inguinal lymph node sampling for biopsy. The pathological diagnosis was moderately different from adenocarcinoma. A continuity was observed between the colonic mucosal epithelium and the adenocarcinoma. Accordingly, anal fistula cancer was confirmed. The excision margin was positive on the deep exfoliated surface of the left vaginal wall. Subsequently, robot-assisted laparoscopic abdominal perineal resection, vaginal perineal resection, colon stoma construction, and inguinal lymph node dissection were performed. Capecitabine plus oxaliplatin (CAPOX) chemotherapy is currently being administered to the patient. Vulvar adenocarcinoma with Crohn's disease should be scrutinized with suspicion of anal fistula cancer.
